Claire McDonald attended the recent full council meeting as she has concerns about the mini double roundabout in Caversham and wanted to ask Reading Borough Council about the safety of this new system.
She's not convinced that the response she received was satisfactory, and is keen to read the safety report and make suggestions to RBC on how they can implement recommendations to improve safety.
Our Conservative candidate for Caversham Claire McDonald asked:
"Since the recent changes made by RBC to the junction at Gosbrook Rd/Prospect Street/ Church Street in Caversham many users of this junction have been reporting near misses and raising safety concerns via social media. This ties in with my own experience as a Caversham resident and regular user of the junction, both as a pedestrian and a car driver. My question, therefore, is this:
With regards to the mini double roundabouts at the junction of Gosbrook Rd/Prospect Street/ Church Street in Caversham, I would like to know what mechanism RBC has put in place to measure the effectiveness of the recent changes to the road layout and also what evidence does RBC have to suggest that it has improved safety for the public?"
This is the response received from Cllr Tony Page (Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning & Transport):
"Thank you for the question.
The changes carried out at the junction of Gosbrook Road with Prospect Street are subject to a continuous process of review as part of the road safety audit process over the next 3 years. This is in line with national standards.
Following completion of the works a stage 3 road safety audit is now underway and we expect this to be completed within the next month to 6 weeks. The stage 4a road safety audit follows in 12 months, with a Stage 4b road safety audit in 3 years. The purpose of the stage 4b road safety audit is to ensure the objectives of the original scheme have been met.
We are confident that the changes to this junction and the continued road safety audits will result in an overall improvement in road safety for all users of this very busy junction."